After a short round of small talk, Zhongli and the others finally returned.
Lumine quickly entered the courtyard, but before she could say anything, Paimon had already darted into Ryen's arms.
"Ryen! You're finally back! Paimon missed you so much!"
Ryen chuckled and pinched Paimon's cheek playfully.
"I was only gone for three days. If you missed me so much, why didn't you just come with me then?"
"Heehee~"
Paimon rubbed against Ryen affectionately.
"I am Lumine's guide, after all! I take my job very seriously!"
"I'd rather you didn't take it so seriously…"
Lumine rolled her eyes and grumbled,
"This little glutton spent 130 million Mora in Liyue over the past few days just eating and shopping…"
"Hmph! It wasn't your Mora anyway! Ningguang gave it to me!"
Paimon made a face at Lumine.
These days, with Ningguang sponsoring her, Paimon could definitely be described as loaded.
She never haggled when buying things—
Every meal was ordered by the tableful.
But Ningguang didn't mind in the slightest. In her words:
"Even if Paimon's food expenses doubled, it still wouldn't come close to one percent of what the Jade Chamber earns in a single day."
Besides, since Ryen liked Paimon so much, Ningguang naturally liked her too—love me, love my companion.
"Mr. Ryen! I suppose this is our first formal meeting!"
Tartaglia greeted him cheerfully and gave a friendly wave.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Tartaglia!"
Standing to the side, Diluc scoffed.
"So… how many times have you unofficially snuck over here before?"
Tartaglia didn't mind the sarcasm.
Diluc had always held a deep dislike for the Fatui.
Even though Tartaglia and Rosalyne were no longer part of the Fatui now,
and even though Venti had signed a contract with the Cryo Archon…
It was still wishful thinking to expect a warm welcome from Diluc.
"Xiao, how's the karmic debt?"
Ryen nodded toward Tartaglia, then looked at Xiao with subtle meaning in his eyes.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Xiao's expression grew slightly awkward—
Just from that look, Ryen could already guess:
Zhongli really did feed Xiao that enchanted apple himself.
What a shame he missed such a juicy scene…
Hopefully, Venti had the sense to take a secret photo for the memories.
"The remnants of demonic energy have mostly been cleansed.
The karmic debt has also been removed thanks to the Enchanted Golden Apple. It's no longer an issue."
Xiao replied in a low voice.
Ryen smiled and nodded.
"Looks like everything's going smoothly for you all. That's good."
"Alright, no need to waste time. Are the Mondstadt and Liyue teams here? If they're all set, let's head out."
Ningguang hesitated slightly and asked gently,
"So soon? Don't you want to rest a bit first?"
Ryen shook his head with a laugh.
"I did just spend three whole days vacationing across Sumeru with Ganyu and the others. That counts as rest, doesn't it?"
Seeing this, Ningguang didn't press further and responded softly,
"The Knights of Favonius and the Qianyan Army are stationed at the foot of the mountain. They're ready to enter at any time."
Upon hearing that, Ryen stood up decisively.
"Then let's move out! We've got a major project to launch today!"
Although everyone was curious what this "major project" actually was,
when they saw how lightheartedly Ryen left the courtyard,
they chose not to ask just yet.
The Qianyan Army and the Knights of Favonius were stationed nearby, and they had already been briefed by Ningguang and Jean about the operation.
When Ryen opened the two-way portal, though there was still a fleeting sense of disorientation, both groups entered in an orderly fashion.
Once the last person had gone through, Ryen turned to look at Ningguang.
"You and Keqing really aren't coming?"
Ningguang shook her head with a hint of regret.
"Although Liyue Harbor is thriving, it has only just transitioned into civil governance. Keqing and I still need to hold the fort. We likely won't be able to leave for at least a week."
Then, she discreetly pinched Ryen's arm and added,
"You'd better not move too fast with progress over there, or we'll end up needing a long time just to catch up."
Ryen shrugged.
"That's out of my hands."
Ningguang shot him a charming glance and lowered her voice.
"So… during these next few days, come by the Jade Chamber more often, and… explain all the changes there to me in detail."
Naturally, Ryen had no objections to such an invitation.
He agreed without hesitation, hugged Ningguang tightly, then turned and led everyone into the MC world.
The knights and Qianyan soldiers had already vanished from sight.
Only Dashi remained at the portal site.
Ryen had arranged for someone to guide the troops ahead of time—
Now that he thought about it, they were probably already at Base No. 1, observing and learning.
After giving a quick report, Dashi also excused himself and left.
Ryen snapped his fingers to activate physical enhancement sharing.
Paimon, who had looked a little sluggish in this world at first, instantly sprang back to life.
Feeling immense power coursing through her, she puffed up proudly with hands on her hips and shouted:
"Queen Paimon has returned!"
Ryen chuckled and patted her head.
"What pure power… even though I knew it, it still completely exceeds my expectations!"
Tartaglia was visibly excited as he threw a few test punches into the air.
"This world… is paradise!"
No one was surprised by Tartaglia's enthusiasm—
He was, after all, a battle maniac by nature.
Since the three-nation alliance had formed, he'd been going around challenging every strong fighter he could find these past few days.
Xiao had even been pestered so much, he was ready to throw Tartaglia into the sea.
Ryen waved his hand and said:
"Take your time getting used to the place. Remember that 'big project' I mentioned earlier?"
"Hehe~"
Venti blinked playfully and smiled.
"Let me guess… Dragon slaying?"
Ryen nodded with a grin.
"Not just dragon slaying—
I'm also installing a big toy…"
"The Orbital Dragon-Slaying Cannon!"
~~----------------------
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